White House vs. Santelli

As Michael D. Shear wrote in Saturday's Washington Post, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Friday "unleashed a barrage of criticism at a former trader whose rant against the plan this week made him a cable and Internet phenomenon.

"Rick Santelli, a CNBC reporter who exploded in a tirade Thursday from the Chicago Board of Trade, has accused the president of crafting a housing bailout that is unfair to the millions of responsible mortgage holders. 'Government is promoting bad behavior,' Santelli said on his network....

"In response, Gibbs attacked Santelli by name repeatedly at a news briefing, accusing him of not reading the president's housing plan and mocking the former derivatives trader as an ineffective spokesman for the little guy."

From the transcript of Gibbs's briefing: "I also think it's tremendously important that for people who rant on cable television to be responsible and understand what it is they're talking about."

What I find incomprehensible is that wingnuts believe that this Santelli guy is somehow a positive spokesperson for their agenda. He called people going through foreclosure "losers." How is this in any way the kind of message that's going to draw political support? It's kinda bizarre.